Sam Smith confirms he is gay

The 'Lay Me Down' singer, who won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award this year, opened up about his sexuality for the first time after admitting he was left heartbroken last year, but insisted it "is a non-issue," as he has never tried to hide the fact.

The 22-year-old star told the June/July issue of The FADER magazine: "I've never been in a relationship before. I've only been in unrequited relationships where people haven't loved me back. [New album] 'In the Lonely Hour' is about a guy that I fell in love with last year, and he didn't love me back

"It's all there now, and I can move on and hopefully find a guy who can love me the way I love him."

Despite never addressing his sexuality in the past, Sam claimed he has always felt comfortable with who he is.

He said: "I am comfortable with myself, and my life is amazing in that respect. I just wanted to talk about him and have it out there. It's about a guy and that's what I wanted people to know -- I want to be clear that that's what it's about. I've been treated as normal as anyone in my life; I've had no issues. I do know that some people have issues in life, but I haven't, and it's as normal as my right arm. I want to make it a normality because this is a non-issue."